By Ray Cardello for September 13, 2026, Season 33 / Post 15

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JD Vance is a relative newcomer to the political world, and Donald Trump made a really interesting choice in naming him his running mate. Vance actually had a committee of inside supporters led by Don Jr., Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, David Sacks, and Tucker Carlson, who at the time was still close to Trump. There is so much to consider when picking a running mate, and the wrong choice, by popular opinion, can put your race in an early hole: just as with John McCain, Joe Biden, or Kamala Harris. Some of the concerns are:

• Does the candidate align politically with the President?
• Does the candidate help the President gain support?
• Does the candidate come from a state where they can bring additional votes to the table?

What was most interesting about the pick was how anti-Trump Vance was in the first term and their relationship. Like RFK Jr., Marco Rubio, and Tulsi Gabbard, both sides bridged their differences and built strong relationships for the administration’s benefit.

Vance has packed a lifetime into a short time, enlisting with the Marines right out of high school, finishing his degree in three years at Ohio State, and getting his Law Degree at Yale. He has two books to his credit, one of which was adapted into a movie about his hillbilly upbringing. Quite a resume, especially when you compare it to our most recent Vice President, Kamala Harris.

Vance has a presence and confidence level that is far beyond his years, probably because of the diversity of steps he has taken to arrive at the second most powerful position in the free world. His role as an active VP, as opposed to Harris being completely symbolic, has thrust him to the forefront of choices to run in 2028 and carry on the MAGA movement. There is talk of Marco Rubio being at the top of the next ticket, but I hope they will join forces and run together, with Vance at the top. The quality and list of achievements these two would carry into the election would be virtually impossible for the Left to match. Also, should the Left continue this infatuation with Socialism, the Vance and Rubio ticket would be the most drastic comparison that the Republicans could hope for.

Vance delivered the goods with his primetime speech at the GOP Midterm Convention, and was so encouraging, especially if you took the time to picture Kamala Harris in the same role. First, she would have been using his best Dallas, Texas voice and laughing uncontrollably. It would have been very uncomfortable to watch Harris and disheartening when she started to serve up a huge helping of word salad. Vance made it quite clear that he is focused on the midterms and quieted the chants of JD-48. As he said, it was cool to hear, but the work at hand is keeping the House and Senate in November and possibly expanding the Republican support in both Chambers. Then Congress can get to work codifying the achievements of Trump and Vance and building up the support for a Vance run at the White House in ’28. By the cheers and reception he received on Thursday night, along with the praise and accolades he gets for his contribution to the Trump Presidency, JD Vance is perfectly positioned for the next step and more than ready for the challenge.

Author’s Note: Graphics created by Grok AI. Grok’s comments about the images: The spotlight is the whole argument. Vance is under a single hard primetime lamp in a packed Dallas hall because that is the test—not the résumé, not the 48 chants. Those sit in the dark around him on purpose. The path from the Marines to Yale to an active vice presidency only matters if he can hold a room without flinching. The faint 48 signs are there because the crowd wanted them; he is not reaching for them. That matches the speech: encouraging, in command, and still pointing at November.